OSR Commentary On The Sorcerers of Pan Tang For The Stormbringer rpg

 

"Pan Tang is a grim island of lurking evil. Wild jungles to the north resound to the roar of a thousand tigers - the animal sacred to Chardhros the Reaper. The Plain of Glass divides the island, a shining wasteland of ancient volcanic catastrophe The farmland to the south is a living hell to the slaves who worl the great plantations."

"The capital of Pan Tang is Hwamgaarl, the City of Screaming Statues. Tigers walk among men and feed when they please Sorcerers study dark knowledge and summon awesome horrors from other planes to do their bidding. The citizens of Hwamgaarl take their pleasure in the Gardens of Pain, gather their knowledge at the University of Lucid Perversity, and propitiate the Lords of Chaos at the Palace-Temple of the Theocrat."

"Jagreen Lern is the Theocrat of Pan Tang, presiding over this nightmare land. A new age is coming, and his armies are ready. Other nations of the Young Kingdoms already plot against Melnibone, and soon those plots bring war. Pan Tang hovers, vulture-like, awaiting the results of the first violent clash of Young Kingdom armies against the remaining might of Melnibone. Though Melnibone has ruled the world for 10,00( years, in only a small fraction of that time will it be destroyed".

  Sorcerers of Pan Tang for the Stormbringer rpg came out in 1991. Sorcerers of Pan Tang made me a 'fan' of the Pan Tangians and this supplement details the island of Pan Tang. According to the Sorcerers of Pan Tang wiki entry;"Shannon Appelcline noted how after the fourth edition of Stormbringer was published, "the best books to date for the line were produced first by Keith Herber, then by Mark Morrison. They consisted of thick, well-written books of background, such as Sorcerers of Pan Tang (1991) and colourful adventures, such as Rogue Mistress (1991)." This book delivers the Pan Tang island in colourful and dangerous detail. This supplement fits right into the Games Workshop 1991 edition of the  Stormbringer Rpg. Games Workshop also did Eternal Champion line of figures. 

Part of the Eternal Champion line of figures by Games Workshop that appealed to me was Pan Tangian army. They were my go to & still are if I can get my figures out of store 'go to' chaos army. There was something very oddly satisfying about playing & fielding the bad guys. 

  Sorcerers of Pan Tang supplement hits all of the Pan Tangian high points with thier Pan Tangian culture, thier twisted society, adventures & this fits the Stormbringer rpg  so well. I'm not the only one thinks this according to the wiki entry; "Matthew Gabbert reviewed Sorcerers of Pan Tang in White Wolf #31 (May/June, 1992), rating it a 5 out of 5 and stated that "Sorcerers of Pan Tang is well-organized and well-illustrated (thankfully, some of the more graphic descriptions of Pan Tangian recreation are left to the reader's imagination). It successfully presents an atmospheric descrption of Pan Tang and I strongly recommend it for any Stormbringer campaign."" The Pan Tangians could and did appear almost anywhere within the Million Spheres. There were stats for the Pan Tangians within various original Dungeons & Dragons games from Kuntz & Ward's Gods, Demigods, & Heroes. We used the Sorcerers of Pan Tang for original Dungeons & Dragons. 

 Within Stormbringer we crossed  the Theocrat Jagreen Lern having raided a Pan Tangian trade ship. This brought us to the Theocrat's attention and we had to flee the plane just to live to adventure another day.